Katherine Fay Worley Allen, 1876-1971

Katherine Fay Worley Allen was born in 1876, the daughter of Omaha pioneer G.W. Worley. Employed in newspaper work at Beaver City and at Geneva, Nebraska, she established the Universal Press Clipping Service in Omaha, Nebraska in 1906. In 1920 Governor Samuel McKelvie appointed Miss Worley to the Nebraska Board of Control of State Institutions. She succeeded to the chairmanship in June of 1921, becoming the first woman in the United States to hold such a position. In 1923 Miss Worley resigned from the Board and returned to Omaha to manage her press clipping service. In 1925, she married Senator Charles Allen. She was active in Omaha civic and charitable organizations and served as an officer of the Omaha Woman's Club. Mrs. Allen died on March 12, 1971.

The correspondence concerns Miss Worley's service as Chair of the Nebraska Board of Control of State Institutions. One scrapbook, consisting almost entirely of newspaper clippings, relates to the activities of the Omaha Woman's Club, especially to its part in the "Cleaner Omaha" campaign. The second scrapbook contains clippings and correspondence relating to Miss Worley's position on the Board of Control. Included in the miscellany is a copy of "Victory: Report of the Woman's Liberty Loan Committee Tenth Federal Reserve District" (1919).